User:Maya.hb/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Nutrient cycle

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose to evaluate this article because I have a basic understanding of nutrient cycling so I thought I would be able to give an informed evaluation. This topic is important because it provides a basis for many more complex ecological processes. The article should be easy to understand and straight to the point, because readers are probably using it to supplement what they have learned in science class.

Evaluate the article
The lead section of this article has a vague beginning sentence, and the rest of the paragraph contains information that does not further clarify its meaning. It would be better if it was worded more clearly. For example: "The nutrient cycle (or ecological recycling) is the exchange of organic or inorganic mineral nutrients back into the production of matter. Energy flow is not included in this definition because it is noncyclic and unidirectional."

A lot of this article contains good information, but the wording is clunky and redundant. It compares the biogeochemical cycle to the nutrient cycle, but dos not further clarify the differences or similarities (or whether they should actually be used interchangeably).

This articles strength is that it includes a comprehensive diagram that helped me visualize the various nutrient cycles in an ecosystem. I do think the carbon cycle diagram is hard to understand; I've seen better. If I were an AP bio student trying to figure out what my teacher was talking about, this diagram would confuse me even more because it lacks a lot of important factors of a carbon cycle.

The Variations in Terminology page is well done. I find the definitions of each term and the history behind them informative and clear.